As the admission process enters its final stages in Rajasthan University colleges, B.Com has emerged as the most sought-after course, as maximum number of applications have been received for it.

There has been a phenomenal rise in the number of takers for the commerce stream owing to lucrative job opportunities in the finance sector. According to RU officials, colleges have received maximum number of applications for B.Com and B.Com (Honours).

Nearly 7,348 students applied to Maharani's College, of which 3,500 applied for B.Com, which has only 180 seats.

"The astronomical rise is due to availability of commerce related add-on courses. Students can appear in many competitive exams like CA, CS and CPT," CP Jain, vice-principal, commerce section, Maharani's College said. Commerce College has received the maximum number of applications among all constituent colleges. The figure has touched an all time high of 8, 000, while a total of 1,050 seats are available. "Students from Rajasthan and neighbouring states have applied," DR Jat, principal, Commerce College said.

The same trend can be observed in other colleges like Subodh and Kanodiya College. In Subodh College, almost two-third of the total applicants have opted for B.Com. Nearly 4,680 students have applied for the 600 seats available in B.Com and B.Com (Honours) courses.

In the last three months, several job opportunities in the banking sector have emerged. This has encouraged students from different backgrounds to opt for B.Com and B.Com (Honours). In fact, more science students are seeking admission to commerce courses. In Maharani's and Commerce College, many students with science background applied for B.Com and BBA courses.

Fewer number of applicants for humanities and science have surprised college authorities. In some government colleges, the applications for these streams are far less than the number of seats. In terms of number of applications, the most popular courses in RU are B.Com, B.Com (Honours) and BA English literature.